Ball defends Pittman, says Arkansas coach 'loves his job' after whopping loss

Two of the greatest words in sports have nothing to do with each other, but they were used in the same sentence Saturday by one of the Arkansas Razorbacks' team captains.

Cam Ball, who lost his father just prior to this season, faced the unwelcome questions offered by media following the Hogs' embarrassing 56-13 loss to No. 22 Notre Dame.

Oddsmakers had the Hogs listed as less than a touchdown underdog so the outcome was shocking to most folks. That included Ball.

" 'Cause we all know where we're capable of," Ball said. "We know our potential, but potential means nothing if we don't go out to execute."

Notre Dame executed. Crisply. Consistently. Almost perfectly.

Six first-half possessions led to six touchdowns and 420 yards of offense.

Personnel or coaching changes likely in the works

Arkansas did hardly anything well, on either side of the ball. So it turned into a game that could cost some coaches their jobs and some players their starting spots.

Hogs head coach Sam Pittman addressed that question during his post-game comments but mostly said he needs time to make some decisions while hinting changes will be made.

Sometimes assistant coaches are let go or shuffled, either to make improvements or to buy time for a head coach who's under fire.

Pittman knows he's been on a hot seat for what he says is three years.

"If I was a fan, I'd be mad at me too," he said. "I'd be frustrated as hell with me."

Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love, who scored four touchdowns in the first half, spins away from a tackle by Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Larry Worth III (3) tackles at Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

But the ol' offensive lineman still has a lot of fight left and wants the chance to make amends.

"But here's what I'll say," Pittman continued. "As long as I'm the head coach at Arkansas, I'm going to fight my butt off to get the guys out there.

"How long that is, it is partly up to me because of what we put on the field, but that's not my call.

"And if I'm worried about that all the time, I won't be able to do as good a job as I possibly can. But I will say this: If I was the fans, I'd be mad at me too. Hell, I'm mad at me, to be perfectly honest."

Did Pittman foresee a lackluster performance based on practice?

Pittman said he was shocked at his team's performance following what he thought was "a really good week of practice."

Ball was asked is he sympathizes with Pittman because some have expressed the desire to fire the coach.

"Man, I talk to Coach Pitt all the time and mainly he just doesn't let the outside noise get to him," Ball said. "More or less, it'll be more outside noise than anything.

"Coach Pittman, he loves his job. He loves being here. He's confident in being the head coach here."

Is it hard to ignore the outside noise, Ball was asked.

"I wouldn't say necessarily it is. A lot of the outside noise is social media," he replied. "You got a lot of old guys on our team.

"We just don't necessarily look at it because the same people putting us down, whenever we're doing good, they're putting us up as well, so just play for each other and just play for our state and just go from there."

Hogs quarterback says team still has goals to reach

Hogs senior quarterback Taylen Green spoke similar thoughts in a separate meeting with media. He also talked about the Hogs achieving goals that are still within their grasp.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) rushes during the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

"I feel like we have an older team," he said. "We've been through a lot of football, and we have a lot of football left in this season.

"The road ahead has some great opportunities to still make history, make a mark, and make a stamp on this year."

Arkansas is off next week before traveling to Tennessee. Then the Hogs host three straight SEC opponents: Texas A&M, Auburn and Mississippi State.

A second bye week precedes trips to LSU and Texas before the home finale against Missouri.

Is a bowl game still possible for Pittman's Razorbacks?

A sweep of the four home games would give Arkansas a 6-6 record and the fifth bowl berth under Pittman's regime.

Green knows that dream is a long way off and much work and improvement are needed to avoid a disastrous season.

"We have to get in the film room," he said. "Bye week next week, it's coming at a great time. We have a great opportunity to get healthy, get guys back and to lock in and get better."

Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman hugs Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman after the game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Senior left guard Fernando Carmona also expressed his shock with the outcome as all signs pointed to a good game for the Hogs, he said.

"Disappointing result, especially with the way we practiced this week," he said. "I felt our practice habits were at an all-time high, and we practiced hard. Definitely not the outcome we expected."

Has Pittman lost control of the team?

Has Pittman lost the locker room, or do players still believe and can this humiliation be used to fuel a run of victories?

"We're an older team, very tight team," Carmona said. "I have no concern about the locker room, and like Taylen said, we've got a bye week coming.

"So this is a great time just to get our mental right, our bodies feeling right. Reset and achieve everything that we want to achieve from here on out."

Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jadarian Price rushes during the third quarter as Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Jordan Young closes in at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Square one: Potential matters but execution means more

Well, that takes us back to the beginning of this story. Just how much potential does this Arkansas team have? And can the guys -- especially on defense -- find a way to execute well enough to beat SEC teams?

Pittman has his own questions about his team and will keep searching for answers.

"Do I still think we have a good football team?" he said. "It's hard to say after that embarrassment today.

"But I still think we have the capabilities of winning a lot of games. But certainly, we've got a lot to fix."